NORTHERN  PACIFIC  RAILROAD, 


Instructions  to  Station  Agents. 


OCTOBER,  1881. 


gWABD  W.  NOLAN 


\'.\U\\\ 


NORTHERN  PACIFIC  R,  R 


AUDITOR'S   OFFICE, 

St.  Paul,  Minn.,  Oct.  25,  1881. 

To  Station  Agent:.    . 

To  insure  uniformity  in  reporting  to  this  office, 
and  for  the  information  of  all  Agents,  the  follow- 
ing instructions  have  been  prepared  : 

Reports  Required  from  Station  Agents. 

1 .  Copies  of  all  Way-Bills  of  Freight  Forwarded. 

2.  Copies  of  all  Corrections  of  Way-Bills. 

3.  Copies  of  Elevator  Weights  of  Bulk  Grain. 

4.  Daily  Balance  Sheets. 

5.  Monthly  Balance  Sheets. 

6.  Monthly  Report  of  Freight  Forwarded. 

7.  Monthly  Report  of  Freight  Received. 

8.  Monthly  Report  of  Local  Ticket  Sales. 

9.  Monthly  Report  of  Coupon  Ticket  Sales. 

10.  Monthly  Report  of  Extra  Baggage  Collections. 

1 1 .  Monthly  Abstract  of  Commodities  Forwarded . 

12.  Monthly  Report  of  Tonnage  Forwarded. 

13.  Monthly  Report  of  Tonnage  Received. 


Station  Books. 

The  principal  books  of  a  Station  are  the  Cash 
Book,  Freight  Eeceived  Book,  and  Freight  For- 
warded Book,  and  in  addition,  at  the  larger  sta- 
tions, a  Freight  Receipt  Book. 

REPORTS  AND  REPORTING 
Way-Bills. 

Copies  of  Way- Bills  must  be  forwarded  to  this 
office  daily,  either  impression  copies  or  the  green 
sheets  provided  for  the  purpose,  care  being  taken 
in  all  cases,  where  impression  sheets  are  used,  to 
see  that  they  are  readable. 

Corrections. 

The  Agent  making  a  correction  on  a  Way-Bill 
must,  in  all  cases,  notify  this  office,  and  all  others 
interested. 

Elevator  Weights— Bulk  Grain. 

Agents  shipping  bulk  wheat,  where  the  actual 
weight  cannot  be  arrived  at,  will  way-bill  the  same 
as  One  Car  Bulk  Wheat,  leaving  weight  and 
charges  blank.  The  Receiving  Agent  will  notify 
the  Forwarding  Agent  and  this  office  of  the  weight 
of  grain  received.  The  Forwarding  Agent  will 
then  enter  such  weights  in  his  Freight  Forwarded 
book  and  extend  the  proper  charges.     In  case  re- 


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turns  are  not  in  for  all  cars  shipped  when  the  time 
comes  for  making  report,  agents  will  enter  the 
number  and  date  of  way-bill  and  forward  report  to 
this  office,  where  the  necessary  additions  will  be 
made. 

Daily  Balance  Sheet. 

This  report  is  intended  to  show  the  financial 
condition  of  the  station  each  day,  and  to  be  used 
as  a  basis  for  arriving  at  the  earnings  for  any  given 
time  ;  it  must  be  carefully  prepared  in  accordance 
with  printed  instructions  thereon,  and  should  show 
the  same  result  at  the  close  of  the  month  as  the 
monthly  balance  sheet.  The  Traveling  Auditors 
are  instructed  and  required  to  compare  these  bal- 
ance sheets  with  the  books,  and  to  treat  discrepan- 
cies as  intentional  misrepresentations.  This  Bal- 
ance Sheet  must  be  forwarded  to  this  office  daily. 

Monthly  Balance  Sheet  and  Freight  NRe- 
eeived  Report 

The  monthly  report  of  Freight  Received  and 
Monthly  Balance  Sheet  must  be  made  up  on  the 
last  day  of  each  month,  and  forwarded  by  the  first 
train  thereafter.  The  first  must  give  a  complete 
abstract,  in  station  order,  of  all  way-bills  received 
during  the  month,  and  must  also  show  a  recapitu- 
lation of  the  business,  by  stations,  the  totals  of 
which   must    agree    with    the    Freight    Received 


book.  The  Monthly  Balance  Sheet  must  give 
a  complete  financial  statement  of  the  business 
of  the  station  for  the  month.  All  uncollected 
freight  must  be  carefully  listed  in  the  space  pro- 
vided, and  full  explanations  of  the  reasons  for 
non-delivery  of  Freight  must  be  given.  Agents 
will  be  allowed  to  retain  ten  dollars  as  a  working 
fund;  but  in  no  case  must  the  balance  due  Com- 
pany at  the  close  of  th3  month  exceed  this  amount. 
Agents  must  remit  daily,  or  as  often  as  twenty-five 
dollars  accumulate.  This  rule  is  imperative,  and 
no  excuse  will  be  received  for  deviating  therefrom. 

Monthly  Report  of  Freight  Forwarded. 

This  report  must  be  prepared  immediately  after 
the  Ticket  Reports,  Received  Report  and  Balance 
Sheet  are  out  of  the  way,  but  in  no  case  must  it 
be  delayed  longer  than  the  third  day  after  the  close 
of  the  month  for  which  it  is  made.  This  report 
must  give  a  complete  abstract  of  all  way-bills  for- 
warded, arranged  in  station  order,  and  recapitula- 
ted, same  as  is  done  on  the  Received  Report. 

Ticket  and  Extra  Baggage  Reports. 

All  Ticket  and  Extra  Baggage  Reports  must  be 
made  up  and  forwarded  to  this  office  on  the  first 
day  after  the'  close  of  each  month.  Authority  for 
deviating  from  tariff  rates  must  in  all  cases  accom- 
pany the  ticket  reports,  otherwise  they  will  be 
corrected  to  tariff  rates. 


Abstract  of  Commodities. 

This  report  is  intended  to  be  a  careful  abstract 
of  commodities  forwarded  eastward  and  westward 
from  the  station  each  month.  The  total  pounds 
must  be  made  to  agree  with  the  Freight  Forwarded 
Report,  and  the  classification  must  be  strictly  fol- 
lowed. Where  an  item  is  classified  it  must  appear 
there,  not  under  the  general  head  of  "Merchan- 
dise," as  is  the  common  practice. 

Tonnage  Reports. 

The  Tonnage  Reports,  Forwarded  and  Received, 
are  merely  the  recapitulations  of  the  Freight  For- 
warded and  Received  Reports  respectively,  and 
must  agree  with  these  reports. 

The  Commodities  and  Tonnage  reports  should 
be  prepared  as  soon  after  the  close  of  each  month 
as  practicable,  so  as  to  reach  this  office  not  later 
than  the  15  th  of  the  month. 

Separate  Reports. 

Agents  will,  in  all  cases,  make  separate  For- 
warded and  Received  Reports  for  all  freight  billed 
to  or  received  from  a  .station  on  another  road ;  for 
all  Government  freight,  and  also  for  all  construc- 
tion freights  billed  to.  the  engineering  department 
or  the  contractors,  heading  the  reports  "Joint," 
"Government,"  or  "Construction,"  as  the  case  may 
be. 


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Government  Freight. 

No  agent  must,  in  any  case,  receipt  a  Govern- 
ment bill  of  lading  until  he  has  checked  the  freight 
and  knows  he  has  all  the  articles  mentioned  there- 
in. Forward  no  Government  freight  until  you 
receive  the  bill  of  lading,  except  by  request  in 
writing  from  the  Shipping  Quartermaster.  For- 
ward the  bill  of  lading  to  the  Receiving  Agent,  by 
mail,  as  soon  as  receipted,  and  endeavor,  so  far  as 
practicable,  to  keep  the  shipment  together. 

Receiving  agents  should  carefully  check  the  bill 
of  lading  with  the  freight  as  received,  and  if  dis- 
crepancies occur,  take  immediate  steps  to  find  the 
missing  articles,  and  as  soon  as  delivery  can  be 
made,  get  the  bill  of  lading  receipted  by  the  per- 
son named  therein,  attach  the  expense  bills  and 
remit  to  this  office  for  credit. 

Construction  Material  and  Supplies. 

Agents  receiving  construction  material  consigned 
to  contractors  or  the  Engineering  Department,  in 
accordance  with  General  Freight  Agent's  Circular 
No.  21,  must,  on  delivering  the  same,  require  the 
consignee  to  receipt  for  the  articles  on  the  face  of 
the  expense  bill. 

Once  or  twice  each  month  forward  these  re- 
ceipted expense  bills  to  the  Chief  Engineer's  office, 
at  Brainerd,  and  request  voucher  for  the  amount. 
All  such  freight  must  be  carried  on  the  uncollected 


list  until  the  voucher  is  received.  No  credit  can 
be  obtained  unless  the  certified  expense  bill  is  pro- 
duced, so  the  agent  can  appreciate  the  importance 
of  compliance  with  the  instructions  in  this  respect. 

General  Remarks. 

The  books  of  the  station  should  be  written  up 
each  day  and  the  work  proved,  as  in  no  other  way 
can  an  agent  do  his  work  satisfactorily  and  without 
loss  to  either  himself  or  the  Company,  The  cash 
book  should  be  considered  the  most  important  of 
all  the  station  books,  and  all  moneys  received  or 
disbursed  should  be  entered  therein.  It  should  be 
balanced  with  the  cash  at  the  close  of  each  business 
day.  This  book,  at  all  stations,  great  or  small, 
should  receive  the  agent's  personal  inspection  and 
attention. 

No  freight  should  be  delivered  until  the  way- 
bill has  been  properly  checked  and  the  expense 
bill  is  made  and  ready  for  delivery  to  the  con- 
signee. 

Deliver  no  commercial  freight  without  collecting 
the  charges,  unless  you  receive  positive  instructions 
in  writing  from  the  General  Manager,  or  other 
officer  authorized  to  grant  such  privileges,  to  do  so. 

Take  receipts  for  all  freight  delivered,  for  by 
so  doing  you  can  very  often  protect  the  Company 
against  trumped-up  and  fraudulent  claims. 

Particular  attention  is  called  to  Rule  No.  14  of 
the  current  Freight  Tariff,  in  reference  to  advance 


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charges;  it  says:  "Agents  will  not  make  advances 
on  property  except  for  ordinary  transportation  and 
storage  charges,  and  such  advance  charges  must, 
in  all  cases,  be  guaranteed  by  responsible  parties 
when  the  value  of  the  property  is  not  known  to  be 
sufficient  to  fully  cover  the  same." 

It  is  hoped  that  agents  who  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  advancing  money  contrary  to  the  above 
rule,  will  discontinue  the  practice  in  future,  and 
make  advances  for  ordinary  transportation  and 
storage  charges  only. 

Agents  are  requested  to  observe  strictly  the  rules 
in  regard  to  the  time  for  making  reports.  To  give 
satisfaction  to  the  management  and  the  Company 
we  serve,  our  work  must  be  done  promptly  and 
effectively.  Failure  on  your  part  involves  failure 
on  mine,  and  consequently  just  dissatisfaction. 

Merit  will  be  appreciated  by  the  Company,  and 
those  who  try  cannot  fail  to  succeed. 
Yours  Truly, 

M.  P.  MARTIN, 

Auditor. 

Approved: 

H.  HAUPT,  General  Manager. 


